News

Investigations are in hand in Costa Rica over a series of faults on the highway linking capital San Jose with Caldera. The US$230 million highway has suffered surface cracking in certain stretches, while a number of landslides have also occurred along the route that have required clearing and for repairs to be made. Costa Rica's authorities are investigating Autopistas del Sol following allegations of corruption with regard to the San Jose to Caldera highway project. The investigations are looking at the co

A new highway project in Texas will tackle peak congestion A major highway job is underway in Texas at present where contractor Northgate Constructors, a joint venture between Kiewit & Zachary, is working on the huge DFW Connector Project. Northgate is using equipment from Guntert & Zimmerman, an S850, S600, and two TC1500s, on the job.

Caterpillar is introducing a revised line-up of 20-24 tonne E Series crawler excavators at Intermat 2012. The 320E, 323E and the reduced radius 320E RR adopt the EU Stage IIIB Cat C6.6 ACERTTM engine, providing reduced emissions and fuel consumption savings of up to 11% compared to other D Series models. A wider range of cab seating, including heating and cooling options, comes with the new E Series crawler excavators. Time delay lighting, additional safety handrails and improved serviceability are also sai

A low level of investment in improvements and upgrades to Germany’s highway network is causing concern in the country’s transport sector. Some states have revealed a backlog of works needing to be carried out, with road surfaces now reaching the end of their design life and bridges requiring replacement in different parts of the country. Transport groups say that continuing low road maintenance budgets will further exacerbate the problem.

CNH Global NV, a global player in the agricultural and construction equipment business, has acquired full ownership of L&T-Case Equipment, an unconsolidated joint venture established in 1999 with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to manufacture and sell construction and building equipment in India.

Chinese construction equipment manufacturer LiuGong Machinery announced first quarter earnings of US$93.35 million (¥612 million; ?66.03 million) from a net profit of $905.58 million (¥5.94billion; ?640.59 million) total sales revenue.

The partnership of national road research centres, FEHRL, is setting out two key strategy elements in a bid to develop an advanced and affordable transport infrastructure. FEHRL says that an effective transport system will provide the basis for economic opportunities. The FEHRL General Assembly (FGA) set out two important strategy elements within its fifth Strategic European Road Research Programme (SERRP V) launched in 2011. One is for the gradual broadening of its scope to transport infrastructure in rai

LiuGong Construction Machinery says doubling its North American-based equipment sales in 2011, compared to the previous 12 months, reinforces the company's goal of being among the world's top 10 equipment manufacturers by 2015.

Volvo Construction Equipment sold a record 84,000 machines in 2011. The company believe its ascendancy in the Chinese market was a key factor behind the landmark.

Concern has been expressed in Austria over the potential costs of upgrading the country’s road network to cope with 60tonne trucks measuring up to 25.5m long. The introduction of these massive ‘gigaliners’ has been proposed across the EC. But Austrian highway operator Asfinag has said that upgrading the country’s roads, highways, bridges and tunnels to make them suitable for gigaliners would cost some €5.4 billion. Asfinag has also expressed its concern over the safety issues surrounding these vehicles due

Chinese construction equipment firm Sany is buying Putzmeister, the German manufacturer of concrete pumps. The terms of the deal have not been revealed officially but the acquisition is said to be worth €360-500 million according to various reports.

Championships in 2012. With plans in place to cohost the UEFA 2012 football championships with the Ukraine, Poland's road infrastructure is undergoing major developments to bring it up to date with the rest of the European Union. And to ensure the completed roads and pavements meet the required quality standards, Cooper Technology of Derby, UK, was awarded a contract to provide asphalt testing equipment to

Championships in 2012. With plans in place to cohost the UEFA 2012 football championships with the Ukraine, Poland's road infrastructure is undergoing major developments to bring it up to date with the rest of the European Union. And to ensure the completed roads and pavements meet the required quality standards, Cooper Technology of Derby, UK, was awarded a contract to provide asphalt testing equipment to